thai @ mosman

It was around 1 PM when we were tired from the zoo and decided to go to the food court to get something to eat. Unfortunately, the queues were incredibly long and all the hot food we wanted to eat was sold out. We decided to leave the zoo and eat in the town just outside by the name of Mosman.

We honestly did not know what to eat because we were unfamiliar with the area, but we noticed a dainty Thai restaurant in a corner street. Sick of the usual Chinese and Vietnamese food, we decided to try something new. The last Thai restaurant, I ever remember visiting was at Sawasadee in the city.

Pad ba mee (hokkien noodles) with calamari @ $10.90

The small restaurant is run by 2 migrants from Thailand. We were immediately served ice cold water and service was polite and fast.

Beef fried rice @ $9.90

We ordered 4 dishes first, but decided to get an extra plate because the food was delicious. The dishes had what the Chinese call "wok hei" which gave memories of street stall food eaten in Asia.

Pad thai with beef @ $9.90

Aside from fried rice and stir fried noodles, there is a selection of entrees, Thai BBQ, Thai soups, salads and curries. If I had seen pineapple fried rice on the menu, I would've ordered that instead of the pad see-iw.

Pad see-iw (thick flat rice noodles) with beef @ $9.90

Seafood fried rice @ $10.90

Overall, it was a very enjoyable meal as meals came out fast and was seasoned well. I particularly liked the fried rice with the added lime juice. It was an enjoyable experience, and if I have the chance, I will dine there again.

***

Thai @ Mosman

Shop 7

713-715 Military Road, Mosman 2088

(around the corner of Gouldsbury Street)

Open 7 days

12 noon - 10 PM

adventuring in the zoo

Koala

This day was supposed to be spent at the Blue Mountains, however because it was raining the previous day, it postponed our plans. The day we visited the zoo, the weather was quite warm and sunny.

We parked the car on the residential streets and walked around 5 minutes to the zoo to purchase our entrance tickets. Like the Sydney Aquarium, there was a queue, only the one at Taronga Zoo was much longer.

Goanna Komodo Dragon

I have a love-hate relationships with zoos, actually any place showcasing animals. You see I hate it when animals just lounge around, sleep and don't do anything. It gets boring whilst it is fun to capture photos and all. Taronga was the same; animals sleeping and not moving...boring.

Turtles

I actually took lots of photos of turtles. The ones with the bumpy shells were particularly interesting.

Green lizard

Turtles

A snake which took me 5 shots to get a satisfactory photo

Long necked turtle

Fish

A really big lizard

This lizard is really ugly, but I took a photo of it because it was moving and doing something.

Giraffe

These giraffes have a good view of the city landscape and have a long enough neck to enjoy it.

Gorillas

Gorillas were insanely popular. Although they refused to come out of their glass home during the early morning, they ventured out into the open during the afternoon. I was going to take a photo when they were outside playing, but there was too much people so I walked passed standing on my tippy toes.

An ape or monkey of some sort

Posing monkey

Took this photo whilst waiting for the seal show to commence.

Seal show

Yumi told me the seal show was a "must watch" so we were in the queue half an hour before the show commenced, however we cut the line like everyone else in the end. In the next show, staff put barriers so no one could cut through.

Also watched the free flight bird show but I reckon Afomosa Safari in Malaysia does a better job. More tricks, more comedy. We decided to pass the elephant shows as its generally the same every where else.

Asian elephants

An extremely lazy bear who just sleeps

See what I mean by animals sleeping. Bears are so lazy! This bear woke up, walked to the other side of its enclosure and went back to sleep.

Spotted deer

Pelican

Close up! I've always seen one far away by the park. That day I saw a pelican trying to eat a fish which I found funny.

Fiordland penguin

Apparently this penguin from New Zealand is very rare and Taronga is the only zoo in the entire world to have a male.

Lioness

Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to walk through the entire zoo as everyone begun to get hungry and drained from the walking and tired out from the burning sun. It was a good place to spend couple of hours and possibly more and make full use of your camera, be it digital, film or DSLR.

Aside from the many animals, you could also see great views. It was a sunny day and I wish I spent that day in Darling Harbour whilst catching a ride on a ferry to Manly.

For more information, please visit Taronga Zoo's website.

walking to china...town

One of the entrances to China Town

After visiting most of the attractions Darling Harbour has to offer, we walked to China Town for a late lunch. My dad didn't go into the aquarium, so he went to China Town instead to eat, therefore he decided for us to eat at the "cheap, fresh, and big servings meal" food court.

China Town was different from Melbourne's. Inside, various restaurants and bakeries lined the street. There was Photo Plus run by Koreans which only had 4 machines, however had 3 levels selling key rings, plush toys, stationery and all that cute stuff etc. This was also the place Jun took his time picking out a plush for his sister. It also had to be a pig since he said his sister looks like one (he is just being a mean little brother)

There were none of the arcades and alley ways so everything was very neat an orderly. However there was a small building with boutiques and more shops selling cute stuff.

The food court was a round of food stores with brightly lit signs and photos of each meal they have to offer. There was First Taste Soup, ramen stores, Malaysian cuisine and of course Chinese cuisine.

Unlike Melbourne, where cooked food is placed in bain maries, the meals are cooked fresh and served along side with a bowl of rice. Because most stores have a person in the front taking orders and one person cooking, we had to wait for our ticket numbers to be called so we could collect our meal.

Sweet and sour pork with rice @ $8.80?

I couldn't be bothered looking at the many choices of food because I honestly wasn't feeling hungry so I just said sweet and sour pork. Unfortunately it wasn't really that nice, but edible. Maybe it was because I wasn't that hungry... My parents, sister and uncle ordered other stuff but I didn't take photos of it.

Walked back to the train station and took the following photos:

Skyview (equivalent to Melbourne's FAIL Southern Star)

When we got back at my aunty and uncle's place for dinner, we ate homemade pho with a lively bunch of cousins, auntys and uncles.